Once she made up her mind, Aphrodite stopped trying to resist the frenzied suction at her wrist, and instead actively began to guide the holy radiance within her!
She imitated the method she had used before with the Forest Purification Core.
Aphrodite transmitted her gentle holy radiance, while at the same time softly “tugged” at the girl’s rampaging Corrosion, which was running amok from instinct, using her will to simulate a loop of release and convergence.
“Mm…” The moment this holy radiance, carrying Aphrodite’s intent, poured into the girl’s body under active guidance, the girl’s actions suddenly trembled! A whimper escaped from her throat.
The greedy, forceful absorption abruptly froze! In its place was a strange state of “reception.”
It was as if a surging flood had suddenly found a gentle outlet. The rampaging Corrosion inside the girl, under the guidance of the holy radiance, truly began to calm, making contact with the holy radiance and circulating with it, forming a subtle, temporary balance.
It works! It really works!
Aphrodite’s heart leapt with joy, and she immediately steadied her mind, focusing even more intently on guiding the process.
She carefully controlled the delivery speed of the holy radiance, keeping it at a balanced pace—not too fast or too slow—while also maintaining the “Trigger” that the girl needed and keeping up that faint, delicate tug on the Corrosion, avoiding any aggravation.
Aphrodite could clearly sense that the chaotic force within the girl was being soothed and calmed by this strange loop.
The deep, unsettling violet in the girl’s eyes gradually faded away, receding like the tide.
Her frantic, rapid breathing also slowed, growing steady and rhythmic. The strength with which she clutched Aphrodite’s wrist melted away little by little, like thawing ice.
That oppressive, intensely hungry aura faded as well.
After a few breaths, the last taut string in the girl’s body seemed to relax at last.
The purple in her eyes vanished completely, leaving behind only a deep exhaustion and confusion. She let out a low, dreamlike murmur, then her body went limp, losing all strength, and she collapsed forward defenselessly.
At the very instant the girl fainted, Aphrodite, acting on her prepared reflex, desperately turned her head to the side—
“Thud!”
The girl’s body landed limply on top of Aphrodite, her cheek brushing dangerously close along Aphrodite’s neck, carrying a scorching breath. In the end, her head dropped weakly onto Aphrodite’s shoulder, sinking into a deep coma.
As for the girl’s once-overbearing lips, they only managed to graze the skin below Aphrodite’s earlobe, leaving a faint, moist heat, never quite reaching that fatal spot.
In the Room, only the entwined shadows of the two and a single rapid gasp remained.
Saved… Am I saved?
Aphrodite lay on the floor, gulping down air.
What seemed like a simple magic guidance just now had, in truth, demanded extreme control over both her mental power and the strength within her, leaving her utterly spent.
At last… She had survived.
She had almost… lost her first kiss.
Feeling the deep, steady breaths and soft sensation pressing into her chest from the now deeply unconscious girl, Aphrodite finally let out a breath of relief.
The crisis was resolved. The greatest threat had been avoided. Now, all she had to do was get this “weighty burden” off herself, then wait for the girl to wake up naturally.
All right, time to move this heavy “package” aside.
Thinking this, Aphrodite instinctively tried to lift her hand to push the girl away.
However—
Hm?
Her arm… wasn’t moving?
Aphrodite frowned slightly, thinking it was just numb from being pinned for so long. She focused and tried again, attempting to raise her arm…
Not even a twitch!
It wasn’t just her arm! She tried moving her legs next, hoping to push the girl off with her knees… but her legs were as heavy as lead, refusing to budge an inch.
What’s going on?!
Was her blood circulation cut off by the girl’s weight? Impossible!
She knew her own body well enough; though the girl was lying on her, she was a slender girl—there was no way her weight could pin Aphrodite so completely.
Could it be…
Aphrodite started to sense her own condition.
The holy radiance that had once flowed full within her was now dreadfully thin, as if a pond had been drained, leaving only a shallow puddle at the bottom.
Worse still, her mental energy was exhausted. Waves of weakness and dizziness swept through her mind, like the emptiness that came from staying up for several nights in a row.
Aphrodite instantly understood.
To calm the girl’s Heart-Erosion just now, not only had she been forcibly drained of a vast amount of holy radiance,
But then, in order to treat the girl, she had actively and continually channeled even more, all while maintaining extreme focus!
This double expenditure had completely wrung her body dry, pushing it to its limits.
She wasn’t being pinned down at all—she was simply and utterly out of strength.
Other than being able to roll her eyes, tilt her head a little, and curl her fingers and toes slightly, her major muscle groups had all gone on “strike,” refusing to obey.
Raise her arm or push the girl off? Wishful thinking!
She was doomed. Really doomed this time.
Bella had left that morning and who knew when she’d be back.
And this Room, set aside specifically for housing the girl, was located in a remote corner of the manor—besides her and Bella, not a single other maid knew where it was.
Which meant that before Bella returned, no one would discover the two of them “stuck” here in such an awkward position!
Did this mean… she’d have to stay pinned like this until the girl woke up on her own?
The thought of being pinned to the floor by a comatose girl for who knew how long filled Aphrodite with a sense of helplessness!
And what would the girl think when she woke up and saw this? Would she get the wrong idea again? What if her Heart-Erosion wasn’t fully stable and flared up once more…
Aphrodite dared not think further.
She tried squirming a little, but only made her weary muscles protest even more fiercely, to no avail.
She tried turning her head, hoping to nudge the girl away with her head or cheek, but the angle was too awkward—she couldn’t get any leverage.
All her efforts were futile.
In the end, Aphrodite completely gave up struggling.
She lay lifeless on the carpet, staring up at the ornate patterns on the ceiling, feeling the weight pressing on her body and the gentle, warm tickle of the girl’s breathing at her neck. Her heart was full of misery… and a tinge of absurd amusement.
She, Aphrodite, after so many years among the demons, what storms had she not weathered, what fierce foes had she not faced down? Yet now, she’d be done in by something like this?
Exhausted, made into a human cushion for a comatose young lady, stuck helplessly on the floor, awaiting rescue.
If anyone else ever found out, where would she put her face?
Now, all Aphrodite could do was pray the girl would wake up soon and move away, or that Bella would return early.
Thinking it over, she finally closed her eyes, trying her best to ignore the discomfort on her body and the mounting frustration within, and began to attempt… meditation recovery? Or maybe just go to sleep?
After all, what else could she do?